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PG&E crews are staged and ready to respond to outages in the Bay Area today as a strong weather system brings gusty winds and moderate to heavy rain that could result in weather-related damage to our equipment. This week’s storm is the 15th major storm event in our service area in 2023.
We have thousands of crew members in the field, with a focus on the South Bay and Peninsula in the Bay Area where the most damage is expected. Because the weather is dynamic, our crews are ready to roll to other areas if the weather shifts or changes. Our Emergency Operations Center and all local emergency centers are activated to ensure all staff and resources are supporting storm restoration efforts.
In Santa Cruz County, we have an incident management team, which is a strike team, of over 1,000 personnel ready to respond to any hazards we could encounter that result in damages to our equipment, disrupting electric service.
This year’s series of storms with strong winds and heavy rains resulted in trees, limbs and other debris falling into powerlines, damaging equipment and interrupting electric service. This is the same concern we have with this storm which could result in trees, limbs or debris striking our power equipment and disrupting electric service.
Downed trees, branches, and snow could be hiding a power line. Assume all wires are energized and extremely dangerous. Don’t touch or try to move the power line, stay away. Report downed lines to 911 and PG&E at 1-800-743-5002. What to do if you see a downed power line (pge.com)
Since the start of the year (Jan. 1, 2023) through today (March 27, 2023), PG&E has restored more than 7 million customers whose electric service was interrupted by the severe weather; 79% of those customers were restored in 12 hours or less.
- PG&E’s meteorologists are forecasting the storm will be most severe in the company’s Humboldt and Peninsula divisions (Category 4) with our North Bay, North Valley, Sierra, East Bay, Diablo, De Anza and Central Coast (Category 3) also expected to see significant impacts.
- Since Dec. 31, 2022, we’ve:
- Replaced 5,9774 poles
- Replaced 906 miles of wire (more than the distance from the Giants’ Oracle Park Stadium to Dodger Stadium and back)
- Removed 13,844 trees that damaged infrastructure.
| March 28, 2023 – 10 AM | Affected Customers |
| San Francisco | 2 |
| Peninsula | 30 |
| North Bay | 615 |
| East Bay | 1,974 |
| South Bay | 2,565 |
| TOTAL | 5,186 |
Outage Map & Updates
- Visit our Outage Map to report an outage or view outage details: PGE Emergency Site – Outage Center
- Search outages by specific address, by city or by county. This outage site has been updated to include support in 16 languages.
- Receive outage updates by text, email, or phone, stay informed about outages affecting your service—or service anywhere in PG&E’s territory.
- When you sign up for outage notifications, we’ll let you know the cause, when crews are on their way, the estimated restoration time and when power is restored. Learn about your outage notification
- To set your preference for all current and future outages affecting your service, follow these steps.
Customer Storm Preparedness and Safety Tips
- PG&E encourages customers to have a plan, prepare for power outages and above all else, stay safe. Visit www.pge.com/stormsafety for preparedness tips.
- Customers can get updates on outages in their neighborhood through a variety of channels.
- Access our Electric Outage Map online at pge.com/outages
- Contact our outage information line at 1-800-743-5002
- Customers can also log-in to their account through pge.com and sign up to receive proactive outage alerts through email, text, or phone.
- Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 911 and by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
- Floods and landslides can cause severe damage to the gas system. PG&E will be monitoring the storm event, and if required, would be isolating the gas system from a safe distance from the flood water:
- In the most saturated areas, PG&E will have workers ready to reinforce gas infrastructure and make repairs.
- PG&E gas service representatives will also venture into flooded neighborhoods to shut off gas meters in order to prevent water intrusion into the gas system.
- Once the floodwaters recede, PG&E will restore gas and electric service to the community.
- When returning to their homes, customers should not attempt to turn on their gas or electricity. They should contact PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to request that their services be restored.
- Some city and/or county officials may require that premises be inspected before re- establishing gas and electric service. In such cases, PG&E cannot restore service until an inspection has been completed.
- Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, animals, and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
- Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup.
- Have fresh drinking water, ice: Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer during an outage to prevent foods from spoiling. Blue Ice from your picnic cooler also works well in the freezer.
- Secure outdoor furniture: Deck furniture, lightweight yard structures and decorative lawn items should be secured as they can be blown by high winds and damage overhead power lines and property.
- Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric generators should make sure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to customers, as well as crews working on power lines. If using portable generators, be sure they are in a well-ventilated area.
- Turn off appliances: If you experience an outage, unplug, or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.
- Safely clean up: After the storm has passed, be sure to safely clean up. Never touch downed wires and always call 8-1-1 or visit 811express.com at least two full business days before digging to have all underground utilities safely marked.
